U.S. trade deficit hits record high in September

The U.S. trade deficit hit a record high of 80.9 billion U.S. dollars in September as American exports fell sharply, the U.S. Commerce Department reported on Thursday.

U.S. exports fell by 3 per cent to 207.6 billion dollars in September while imports rose by 0.6 per cent to 288.5 billion dollars. The goods and services deficit rose by 11.2 per cent from a revised 72.8 billion dollars in the previous month, according to the department.

"Solid domestic demand has caused import growth to outpace exports for the better part of the past year. The deficit has widened in eight of the past 12 months as a result," Tim Quinlan and Shannon Seery, economists at Wells Fargo Securities, said Thursday in an analysis, adding net exports have been a drag on U.S. gross domestic product (GDP) growth for the past five consecutive quarters.

"With U.S. consumption slowly rebalancing back toward services spending, imports should eventually slow and provide some relief at our nation's largest ports. But, we're likely some ways away from a meaningful reprieve," the economists said.

The U.S. economy grew at an annual rate of 2 per cent in the third quarter amid the Delta variant-fueled COVID-19 surge after expanding 6.7 per cent in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported last week. (ANI/Xinhua)

( With inputs from ANI )